Day 6: Zyx’s Journal

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the cold. Not the kind that makes your teeth chatter, but the kind that seeps through your bones and makes your chest feel tight. I’ve been lying here for a long time—since before the stars came out, maybe. The air smells like wet stone and old roots, like the place where the river used to be. I remember Vex. That’s the name he gave me when we were kids. Not his real name, but the name he used when he spoke to me. He said something about the world being a mirror, but I don’t know if he meant it or if he was just trying to make me feel better. Now, I don’t know why I keep going back to that spot by the river, where the ground is smooth and the water’s too shallow to drown you. It’s strange how my mind keeps pulling me back there, even though I don’t want to. I think about what he said, but it’s always a whisper—something about the way the world bends, how it doesn’t always show the whole picture. My legs feel heavy, like they’ve been walking all day, but I don’t remember walking. Maybe I did. Maybe I just dreamed. I don’t know if I want to know. I’m tired of trying to remember what I saw. The sky is bright now, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s the same sky I saw last night, or if it’s a different one. Maybe it’s a dream too. But I have to try to wake up. I have to remember what I saw. I have to try to find out what it all means.